Persona 4: Episode Naruto
by TTwing
Summary: What happens when Naruto and Gaara go to Inaba instead of the MC of P4? I don't see many persona/naruto crossovers, so I wanted to do one. It's only rated M because the game is, it WILL contain spoilers in later chapters, so keep that in mind.
1. To Inaba

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or Naruto. This is strictly a fan made story. **

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There was a car, or rather, a large limo driving in mist so think, one cannot see threw it. A young blonde found himself sitting in a seat, opposite to a creepy looking man, and a lovely woman.

"Welcome to the Velvet room." The man spoke with such peace. "It would seem that we have a guest with an intriguing destiny…My name is Igor, I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter… It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter… It may be, that such a fate awaits you in the near future. Now then, why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Me?" The blonde spoke. "Uzumaki Naruto."

"Do you believe in fortune telling?"

He took out a deck of tarot cards and shuffled them hastily.

"Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different… Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?"

Igor spread the cards.

"Hm… The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent. The card indicating the future beyond that is…"

He flipped another card.

"The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents 'hesitation' and 'mystery' … Very interesting indeed. It seems you will encounter misfortune upon your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you. In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny… If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost. My duty is to provide assistance to our guests, to ensure that does not happen."

Igor made the tarot cards disappear.

"Ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you. This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place, like myself."

"My name is Margaret. I am here to accompany you through your journey."

"We shall attend to the details another time. Until then, farewell…"

Haze filled the room, and Naruto found himself leaned against the window of a train, with his music player running. The train moved swiftly across endless landscape. Naruto looked over to see that Gaara was quietly reading his book.

(Flashback)

After a mission together, both Naruto and Gaara were attacked with a special jutsu that sealed their abilities to release any chakra what-so-ever, meaning that they could no longer use any jutsu. Tsunade tried, but was unable to do anything that would remove whatever was disabling their powers. Even the demons inside them were weakened greatly by this attack. Things seemed grim, as Tsunade said that they may just have to retire early, until Sakura made a suggestion.

"Why don't we give them a vacation from here? I'm sure if they get some rest, their chakra will unseal. Listen, some family friends of mine, the Dojimas, live in a quiet, rural town, and I just got word from them that they were able to make a guest room. I'm sure if I asked, they'd be willing to house you two for a while."

After a lot of talk, it was decided that Naruto and Gaara would spend one year in the town, Inaba, in hopes that their chakra would unseal.

(Return)

"So, Gaara, what are you thinking about spending a year out in the middle of no where?"

"It might be a pain… but I guess it can't be helped. At least we'll be safer away from the ninja villages, since we can't fight back."

In truth, Gaara was actually looking forward to spending some time away from all that chaos, and getting some time to relax. Especially since he could do it with his only real friend, Naruto. Ever since the chunin exams, Gaara and Naruto became friends, and have grown closer to one another.

The train pulled into its station, and the redhead and blonde casually waltzed out, not really knowing where to go. Thankfully, Gaara spotted a tall man holding a sign that read, "Naruto and Gaara." They both began walking towards the tall, thin, almost tired-looking man with a burnt out cigarette in his mouth.

"Ah, you two must be Naruto and Gaara. When I heard Sakura needed a place for her friends to stay, I was happy to help."

"Thank you, we're sorry to burden you." Gaara blurted out.

"Nonsense. Sakura's parents are good friends of mine, and when she called, saying you both needed some vacation time, I was more then happy to offer up our extra room. You'll have to share it though, I don't exactly have any more room."

"Don't worry about that, we'll be fine! Right Gaara?"

"Sure…"

"Well, if you need something, just ask okay? Alright, let's go, Nanako-"

There was a slight gasp coming from behind Dojima's legs. A little brunette girl with pigtails,

and a bright pink dress was shyly hiding behind her father.

"Ah, you'll have to excuse Nanako, she gets a little shy around strangers. Nanako, don't be shy,

this is Naruto and Gaara, they're friendly."

"Um… hi…"

"Hey their Nanako-chan! Don't be afraid, I know Gaara looks a little scary, but he's a big softy once

you get to know him."

"I beg your pardon!?"

Naruto and Dojima shared a quick laugh, and Nanako gave a weak smile.

They all piled in the small car, on their way to a new home for a year. Gaara sat in the front,

while Naruto stayed in the back with Nanako. It was a quiet, cloudy drive, Naruto listening to his music,

Gaara reading a book, Nanako gazing out the window at the nostalgic blur of scenery, and Dojima saying

something of little interest here and there.

"Um… Daddy, can we stop at the gas station on the way back, I need to use the bathroom."

"Sure Nanako. I guess it wouldn't hurt to fill up the tank either…"

After only a few more silent minutes of driving, Dojima had pulled into a gas station. Everyone

but Gaara got out.

"Ok, Nanako, you want me to go with you?"

"I've got it Dad." Nanako spoke as she was already walking into the station.

"Fill it up with regular please."

"No problem sir." The female attendant politely answered. "So, you must be from out of town."

She directed to Naruto. "There really isn't much to do around here, but I guess it would be part of the

charm. If you've got some free time, we are looking for new employees. But don't worry, we don't care if

you're still in high school."

"Oh, yea, maybe."

"Well, let me be the first to welcome you to Inaba."

She put out her hand for a shake, and Naruto politely accepted it. Her grip was firm and tight.

Shortly after, Nanako returned from the rest room.

"Um… you don't look so good… did you get car sick?" She directed to Naruto."

"Now that you mention it, I do have a little bit of a headache…"

They all piled back into the car and drove off, the attendant waving goodbye. It was only about

another ten minutes before they arrived at the Dojima residence. Naruto and Gaara stepped in and removed their shoes at the entrance, following Dojima and Nanako. It was a small little home, with a kitchen and living area attached, and a tiny corridor next to the entrance, with two bedrooms, and a staircase to the extra room where Naruto and Gaara would be staying.

"You'll find that I've already fixed up your new room so that its already furnished. Just unpack your stuff in the closet. I'm going to get dinner ready-"

"You mean I'LL be getting dinner ready." Nanako interrupted.

"Oh, yea, Nanako will be getting dinner ready. So come back down when you finish unpacking."

Everyone but Gaara let out a chuckle.

"Thanks, sir, but my head is a little fuzzy… I think I'm going to go to bed early."

"Ok then Naruto, I hope you feel better tomorrow. Oh! That reminds me, you'll be starting school tomorrow. Your uniforms are on the couch in your room, you should probably leave by seven tomorrow. I also left you some directions, it's not a big town, but I figured you'd like to know where the school is."

Naruto said goodnight to the others and went up to bed. He found two futons against the opposite wall of the room, then pulled out one and collapsed on top of it, without even changing clothes."

Back downstairs, Nanako had prepared a small, easy dinner, and the three of them were sitting around the table.

"So, I didn't get many details, but I heard from Sakura that the work you've been doing has been stressing the both of you a lot. I know it's difficult where you live, but please make yourself at home. Tell the same to Naruto when he feels better to."

"Thank you for your kindness. I know you don't exactly know us, but we greatly appreciate what you're doing for us."

"Come on, there's no need to be so formal. You're making Nanako all tense. Just relax, it's no trouble at all. Let's just eat."

Dojima's phone rang the second they reached to eat.

"Damn it… Hello, Dojima speaking…"

Nanako and Gaara just watched as he talked with someone, probably from work.

"Damn it… Looks like something came up at the station, you two will have to start without me."

Dojima started towards the door.

"Nanako, it's raining, what did you do with the laundry?"

"I already brought it in."

He just walked out after that.

"My dad works as a detective, so he's always getting calls to go out somewhere. He's never really home."

Nanako turned on the TV, it was the news. First, it talked about the weather, lots of rain tomorrow.

"Let's eat!"

Just as they began eating, the news changed. Apparently, they were talking about a recent affair a man named Taro Namatame, a city council secretary had with a local news reporter, Mayumi Yamino. Gaara wasn't all that interested, so he just at his meal, which, was surprisingly delicious considering a seven year old cooked it.

"This is boring…" Nanako blurted out, referring to the TV.

She changed the channel to what appeared to be a commercial.

"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products. ~Every day's great at your Junes!~"

Nanako quickly repeated the extremely catching tune, with a big smile on her face. The first one Gaara was able to see.

"Are you going to eat?"

Gaara realized that he hadn't touched his food in a while, he was too busy paying attention to her. Worried that he might have insulted her, Gaara quickly dug into his food.

* * * * *

Naruto was surrounded by fog, lots and lots of thick fog.

_Where am I? What is this place…?_

He started walking through the almost opaque mist, when a strange shadow of some sort appeared. It was silent, yet at the same time, Naruto could hear exactly what it spoke, perfectly.

"Do you seek the truth…?"

He just continued to run thought the thick fog. The voice appeared again.

"If it's the truth you desire, then come and find me…"

_It's coming from up ahead…_

Naruto kept running, and suddenly found himself up against some sort of door. It was square, perfectly square, and had a pattern like you are looking into a tunnel, but it's just a flat surface, with the colors red and black. Even without his previous ninja abilities, he could still sense something was definitely behind the door. Naruto opened it, and things got very hazy. There was a sword in his hand, and he was facing that same shadowy figure from before.

"So… you are the one pursuing me… Hmhmhm… try all you like…"

Naruto ran up and tried to slash, it made contact, but the damage was minimal.

"Hmm… it seems you can see a little, despite the fog…"

Naruto tried to attack again, but had the same result.

"I see… Indeed, you possess an interesting quality…"

Again he attacked with the sword, and again there was the same effect.

"But… you will not catch me so easily… If what you seek is 'truth,' then your search will be even harder…"

This time, the figure called out "Bewildering Fog," and the area soon became surrounded and unimaginably thick fog. Regardless, Naruto tried again to attack, but it wouldn't connect.

"Everyone sees what they want to… And the fog only deepens…"

Naruto tried again to attack, but there was still no contact. It was like trying to battle air.

"…Will we meet again…? At a place other then here… Hmhm… I look forward to it…"

Naruto began to lose consciousness.

"Get back here!" He shouted.

Gaara looked at him oddly. They were in their new room.

"Bad dream?"

"No, strange dream… I was chasing this shadow who kept talking about me trying to uncover the truth about something… What about you, were you able to get any sleep?"

"Oh, yes, just a little, it's been getting better, slowly. I unpacked for you, before I went to sleep."

"Thanks Gaara, you didn't have to."

"Don't worry about it. You should probably go back to sleep, we have to get up and get ready in about two hours."

"Yea, ok. Night Gaara."

"Goodnight."


	2. School

_**Please leave me some reviews. Who knows, if people like it, I'll try going all the way to the end of the true ending.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or Naruto, this is strictly fan made.**_

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*Knock* *Knock*

"Breakfast is ready!" Nanako shouted from the other side of the door.

Both boys had already showered, changed, and got their things ready for school. They stood there for a moment, looking at one another in their new uniforms. A white button-up shirt, with a black jacket, black slacks, and black loafers. It also had just sank in to Naruto that Gaara hadn't been wearing his gourd.

"I look pretty snazzy don't I!" Naruto laughed.

"Sure, I guess… Let's go eat now, we don't want to be late on our first day."

They both walked down into the kitchen area to see that Nanako had prepared some toast and eggs, sunny-side up.

"Good morning."

The aroma of breakfast filled the air of the small household. It was pleasant. They both sat down at the table.

"Let's eat."

"Did you make all this yourself, Nanako-chan!?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. I can make toast and sunny-side up eggs." She smiled.

"Dinner last night was also really good." Gaara spoke after tasting his food. "You're a really good cook, Nanako-chan."

"Thank you. Dad can't cook, so I usually buy dinner… but I tried making some noodles last night, so I'm glad they came out ok. You're starting school today right? My school's on the way, we should all go together!"

"Sure thing, Nanako-chan!"

Naruto gave her a big smile, and she smiled back. Obviously she was losing her shyness over them. They all grabbed some umbrellas and went out into the rainy weather. No one talked much during the walk, listening to the rain patter against their umbrellas. Nanako stopped when they reached the Samegawa flood plain.

"You both keep going straight, my school is this way. Bye I'll see you both at home, okay."

They waved goodbye as Nanako walked to her school, and both boys pressed forward, through the rain. Just a little farther up, Naruto and Gaara were passed by a boy on a yellow bike losing control.

"Whoaaaaa….!"

BANG! He crashed into a large telephone pole. When the boys reached him, he was gripping his crotch in pain, and was jumping up and down a little.

"Jeez, that looked painful…" Naruto whispered to Gaara.

"Let's leave him alone…"

So they passed him, and walked up to the gates of their school. Beautiful cherry blossoms surrounded the entrance, as many other students passed them, laughing and chatting with their friends.

"So this is gonna be our school for a year, sweet!"

Naruto and Gaara went to the Faculty Office, were they met some disturbing looking man with a purple suit, yellow tie, and buck teeth that could challenge a beaver's, and it wasn't just his front teeth, his whole upper row of teeth.

"Oh, you two must be those exchange students. I heard it was cause you needed, 'vacation time.' Well I know the real reason, it's because you both are probably some lousy-ass students who got expelled from your other school. You're lucky this school doesn't care about past records, cause you'd be out of here in a heartbeat if I had my way. Let's just get you to your new class before you waste more of my time!"

Both of them were a little spellbound at his attitude. If either of them had even a fraction of their abilities they had before, this guy would be the one getting kicked out in a heartbeat, kicked off the face of the earth that is…

They walked into one of the classrooms on the second floor, the sounds of happy chatter and laugher filled their ears as they walked in.

"Alright, shut your traps and sit down! I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward! First things first! Just because it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons. Long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as the driven snow!"

There was an obvious look of doubt in just about everyone in the room.

"Now, I hate wasting my time, but I guess I have to introduce the transfer students. These sad sacks' been thrown from their hometown into this middle of nowhere town like yesterday's garbage!"

_Is this guy for real? _Naruto thought.

_He is just aching to get beaten…_ Gaara was a little ticked, but ignored it.

"And they're just as much of losers here as they were there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on them! Tell them your names, and make it quick."

"Gaara…"

"Wait, are you calling us losers?"

Everyone just looked completely flabbergasted at Naruto's remark.

"That's it, blondie, you're on my shit list, effective immediately. Now listen up! This town is miles away from your town of perverts and assholes, in more ways then one. You better not even think of getting involved with the girls here, let alone abusing them! But what do I know… it's not like the old days. Even here, kids grow up so damn fast. Every time I turn my back, you're fooling around on those damn phones, checking out your life-journals and your, my-places…"

He just went on and on with his lecture. If Gaara had even a grain of sand, he wouldn't have been able to hold back slaughtering the man in front of his class. A brunette girl with short hair and a green sweat jacket suddenly raised her hand.

"Um… excuse me, but could the transfer students sit here?"

She was referring to the seat next to her, and the one up a row from that one, next to the girl in the red sweater.

"Sure, you here that!? Your seats are over there! So hurry up and siddown already!"

Both of them rolled their eyes as they nonchalantly walked over to their new seats, as if they were used to an asshole of a teacher. Just as they sit down, the girl from before leaned towards them.

"Hey, I'm Chie, I'm sorry you landed King Moron's class, guess we'll have to stick it out together."

"Hey, nice to meet you, I'm Naruto, my friend is Gaara."

The other students in the class began to talk as well, both boys heard their comments, which were pretty much the same, talking about them, and how they're sorry they landed King Moron.

"Hey! Shut your traps! I'm taking roll, and I damn well expect you to respond in an orderly manner!"

Life at the new school has begun. Both Naruto and Gaara planned to try and survive this class with an asshole teacher. Hopefully they'd be able to fit in and make some friends. The day passed by pretty quickly, all their teachers just explained their class, things they expect from their students, and what they would be going over for the year. Every once in a while Naruto or Chie would give each other a comment on the teacher, the class, or just asking questions about one another.

As they were sitting in their homeroom again at the end of the day, waiting for school to end, there was an announcement.

"Attention all teachers." It was a woman's voice. "Please report immediately to the Faculty Office for a brief staff meeting. All students are to return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice.

"You heard the announcement, don't go anywhere until you hear otherwise!" Morooka left the room.

"Man, what a let down…" Naruto sighed.

"He's seriously getting on my nerves…" A brown haired girl stated about their teacher.

There were sirens in the distance. As some of the students went to the window to see what was happening, the sirens got louder. Unfortunately the fog was too thick to see what was going on. They also started talking about that reporter from the news, saying how the paparazzi were looking everywhere for her. Meanwhile, another student approached the black haired girl in the red sweater sitting next to Gaara.

"H-Hey, Yukiko-san, mind if I ask you something? Is it true that announcer's staying at your family's inn?"

"I can't discuses such things."

"Yeah, I guess not…" He ran off.

Chie walked up to her, after the boy ran off, and started talking to her.

"Man, this is gonna take forever…" Naruto whispered to Gaara.

"By the way, did you try what I told you the other day? You know… that thing about rainy nights…"

"Oh… No, not yet, sorry."

"Oh, it's ok. It's just, I heard some guy from another class was shouting something like, 'My soul mate is Yamano, the announcer!'"

"Attention all students." The announcements turned back on. "There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the School Zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible and leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers, head directly home. I repeat…"

Gossip and rumors spread instantly throughout the room about the incident. A lot of students were a little worried.

"Man, we sure picked the perfect time to get here… We can't sense anything either…" Naruto whispered to Gaara.

"Well, it's got nothing to do with us."

Some of the students began to leave, while Chie and her friend walked up to Naruto and Gaara.

"Hey, are you guys going home by yourselves? Why don't you come with us? Oh! And This is Yukiko Amagi, she's my best friend."

"Hey, yeah, we'll go, right Gaara?"

"Sure."

"Nice to meet you guys."

As they started walking towards the exit of the classroom, the boy that had injured himself before walked by them.

"Um… Miss Satonaka…" He was referring to Chie, while holding a video. "This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see… And, I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please, just have mercy until my next paycheck! Seeya, Thanks!"

He quickly started walking away as fast as he could, but she noticed instantly, and chased him down.

"Stop right there! Just what did you do to my DVD!?"

She knocked him into the desk, and he, again, was injured in the same location, and was hopping up and down in pain. Chie looked in the DVD case and was shocked.

"What the!? I can't believe this! It's completely cracked… My 'Trial of the Dragon' …!

"I think mine's cracked too… C-Critical hit to the nads…"

"Are you alright?" Yukiko asked the guy.

"Oh, are you worried about me Yukiko-san?"

"Yukiko, he's fine, let's ditch him and leave." Chie was ticked.

The girls walked by. Both Naruto and Gaara looked at the kid, feeling a little sorry for the guy, then went to catch up to Chie and Yukiko. As the reached the gate to the school, some strange student with a different uniform approached them.

"You're Yuki, right? Do you want to go out somewhere?"

"What? Who are you?"

Behind them were some other students.

"What he's going for Yukiko-san already? You'd think he would at least wait till she was alone."

"What do you want to bet she knocks him out?"

"Hasn't he heard how difficult the 'Amagi Challenge' is?"

"So, are you coming or not?"

"I-I'm not going…"

"Fine then!"

The guy suddenly ran off, and looked like he was ticked off.

"What did he want from me…?"

"What did he want? Obviously he was trying to ask you out on a date. You didn't realize that?" Chie commented.

"Oh, really?"

The kid from before brought around his bike.

"Yo, Yukiko-san, turned another one down huh?" He laughed. "Man you can be cruel, got me the same way last year to."

"You did? I don't remember anything like that."

"Really? So, do you want to hang out sometime?"

"I'd rather not…"

"Figures, that teaches me to get my hopes up like that. Don't bother the transfer kids too much."

With that, he rode off on his bright yellow bike.

"Hey, don't get any ideas! We're just a little curious!" Chie screamed at him while he rode away.

"Sorry for all this, you two." Yukiko apologized.

"No worries, Yukiko-san! Friends have each other's backs right?"

"Friends, huh? You sure are direct, Naruto!" Chie laughed as they walked away from school.

While they strolled towards home, Naruto and Gaara explained that, their families got worried about their stress, and thought that they were spending too much time at home, so they wanted to give the two a vacation. Since they were such good friends, they took it together. That wasn't really the truth, but they knew that, outside of the element nations, no one knew about the life of a shinobi, so it would be better to keep it secret.

"Wow, must be stressful. Though when I think, 'vacation' I usually think no school, but I guess you can't really miss a whole year of school, so…"

"A cousin of mine did the same thing." Yukiko interrupted. "He became stressed from work, so took a vacation in Greece. It was only a few months, but I know where you're coming from."

"Well, anyway, I hope you guys have a good time, too bad you came here though. There really isn't anything out here. That is what makes it nice, but there's nothing we can show people from outside. There is Mt. Yasogami. I think our dyed clothes, or pottery, or something is kinda famous. Oh! I know, the Amagi Inn. Yukiko's family runs it, the pride of Inaba."

"Well, it's just an old in…"

"All the magazines say it's a hidden treasure. It's been going for ages, and someday, Yukiko will take over."

"That must put a lot of pressure on you." Gaara commented.

"Um… not really. It feels like it once in a while, but not really…"

"Oh, Naruto, tell me, you think Yukiko is cute right?" Chie asked.

"What!? Don't ask him that!"

Yukiko started to get red.

"Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have asked right in front of you."

"Don't start again, Chie…"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Hey, what's going on over their?"

She pointed to a commotion arising in front of a nearby street. There were a few people gathered around a police officer who vacated the street. Some women were chatting about what happened.

"So, this high schooler was just walking down the street, she had left for school early, when she saw it."

"Who would ever imagine seeing something like THAT hanging from an antenna?"

"I actually wanted to see it to…"

"You got here too late, the police and fire department just came and took it down."

"It's just so terrifying! Why would a dead body of all things show up around here!?"

Naruto and the others immediately looked shocked. To him and Gaara, a dead body wasn't something to be surprised about where they came from, but out here, where this world was supposed to be peaceful, and especially in such a quiet, rural town like this. What bothered them the most was, they thought it might be someone from where they came from, looking to attack them while they were unable to fight back.

"Wait, did she just say it was a dead body!?" Chie gasped.

There was a man walking down the street, a detective. It was Dojima, he quickly noticed Naruto and Gaara, and approached them.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?"

"We were just on our way home." Gaara spoke.

"Oh, sorry, I should've figured that was it. Damn… we told the principal not to let students past here…"

"Do you know this guy?" Chie asked them.

"Oh, sorry, we didn't tell you, this is Dojima, he's who we're staying with."

"Yea, I'm his guardian, Detective Dojima. I'm glad to see you two are making friends already. I hope you get along with them… You guys should head straight home."

He began walking back up the street, but someone came running down, looking like he was about to vomit, and did just that…

"Adachi! How long are you going to act like a rookie!? You're going to get sent back if you keep this up!"

He responded by vomiting more.

"I'm sorry… sir."

"Go get cleaned up…"

He and Adachi returned up the street, probably to question other residents.

"I wonder… was this what that announcement at school was about?" Chie was lost in thought.

"What did they mean… it was hanging from an antenna…?" Yukiko was also a little stirred.

"I think we should just go home and get some rest for today."

"You're right, Gaara. I think we'll be going then, I guess we'll see you both tomorrow."

They waved goodbye to Chie and Yukiko, then went back home.

"What a way to start a vacation… with a dead body."

"We should just get some rest, Naruto. That was the point of coming here, remember?"

It was a long, silent walk home. Luckily, they came home to Nanako's smiling face, which instantly cheered them up.

"Welcome home!"

They all sat around the table. Nanako had made more noodles. The news was also on, and was, as predicted by Naruto and Gaara, talking about the bizarre murder. Apparently, the victim was Yamano, the woman who was caught having an affair with the secretary. Gaara also gave a brief explanation on who she was, from what he recalled last night. The Inaba Police Department was mentioned, and that made Nanako jump.

"That's where Dad works!"

She was a little restless.

"Are you worried about him, Nanako-chan? Don't worry, everything will be alright, believe it."

"I know, that's his job. He does this stuff all the time. It's always like this… Whenever he has work, I'm always home alone all night. But it's not so bad, I have you two to be around." She gave them a warm smile.

The news continued on the topic, and the police were discussing what kind of death it was, whether it was an accident, homicide, suicide, etc…

_Clearly it's a homicide. _Gaara thought. _An accident resulting like that is illogical, and no one could kill themselves, then hang themselves._

Nanako didn't really want to hear more about the murder, and changed the channel.

"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself and get in touch with our products! ~Every day's great at your Junes!~

Like last night, Nanako mimicked the tune.

"You must like that song, Nanako-chan."

"You're a really great singer!"

"Thank you Naruto. I'm the best in my class!"

She continued to sing to herself. Naruto and Gaara went upstairs to get some sleep.

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**Okay, I know that the story so far is really close to the story in the game, but it's only the beginning, so it sort of has to start really similar. Things like the Midnight Channel, the TV world, the shadows, when I get that far, yo****u will see a bigger difference. Please leave some reviews.**


	3. The Midnight Channel

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or Naruto, this is strictly a fan made story.**

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It was going to be a cloudy day again, but Naruto and Gaara got up, and ready for school, and Nanako made them breakfast again. As they walked to school, Nanako was humming the theme to the Junes superstore. Something about her was just so pure, so innocent, and even Gaara felt it.

"I'll see you at home then, bye!"

She waved goodbye as they parted, on their way to school. While Naruto and Gaara walked a little further, the same boy from yesterday was losing control of his bike again.

"Whoaaa! Not again!"

SMASH! This time he crashed into a garbage can and was helplessly flailing and rolling around in the garbage can trying to get out.

"We should help him out, Gaara. Don't worry! We'll get you out!"

Naruto held him by his waist, and Gaara was on the other side, and started to pull the can off the poor guy. After a good tug, he was released.

"Hey, thanks guys, you really saved me there. You two are the ones who were with Chie-chan and Yukiko-san right? My name is Yosuke Hanamura. Nice to meet you."

"Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"My name is Gaara."

"Hey did you hear about that dead body they found yesterday? Who would hang a body from an antenna? That's just messed up."

"No kidding! Back home, I knew the type. You'd be surprised how completely messed up some people can be."

Gaara coughed.

"Oh, well, let's get going before we're late!" Naruto rushed.

They started walking towards school, while Yosuke slowly rode his bike a little ahead of Naruto and Gaara.

"Sorry, I didn't mean you, Gaara."

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have thought that."

"Are you two okay?"

"Oh, yea, don't worry about us, I thought I forgot something."

Morooka began a lecture after they got in the classroom. It was long, and extremely annoying, but everyone lived. Before they knew it, the day passed by. Both were just about to pack up and leave, when Yosuke, came.

"So, how's Inaba, to you guys? Adjusting alright?"

"Yup, it's pretty nice here."

"Glad to hear it Naruto. Took me a lot longer then a few days. I came from the city, though, so I guess it's a more extreme change, but Inaba is really nice. It's got that certain something that just makes it feel completely unique, know what I mean? Can't really pinpoint it, most things seem pretty ordinary."

"I understand the feel of this place. Very peaceful, and quiet. Some might consider it a burden, but I think of it as a virtue." Gaara gave a brief smile as he thought about the town.

"I hear you. The city is always so loud sometimes, it's almost impossible to find someplace quiet, and here, it's the opposite. It's something I have grown to like. Oh, do you know Inaba's specialty? It's grilled steak! Not exactly the most unique dish, but it's good, and I know where to get it cheap, do you guys want to get some? My treat."

"Oh, you'll treat the new guys to steak, but even though you owe me for cracking my 'Trial of the Dragon,' I don't get offered any?" Chie jumped in.

"It figures… The moment I mention food, you show up."

"Well, Yukiko, shall we let him treat us to grilled steak?"

"Sorry, I'd rather not gain the weight. I'm going to be a little busy at the inn two. I'll see you later." She waved goodbye.

"Well, it looks like you'll just be treating the three of us then."

"Oh, all right…"

Yosuke led them to the Junes superstore food court, and bought everyone a meal from a nearby stand. He casually placed it all in the center of the table and sat down.

"Is THIS the cheap place you were talking about? They don't have grilled steak here."

"Well, once you hopped on the freeloader train, I had to switch plans. I'm not a money tree you know."

"That's not excuse to take us to your place."

"I don't own Junes you know, this isn't my place."

Naruto and Gaara looked a little confused.

"Sorry, I should explain. When my family moved here, my father got the job of managing this place, since it just opened up when we got here."

He handed the two of them drinks, and raised his.

"This is to officially welcome you to town. Yours is on me to Chie."

A toast was proposed in honor of Naruto and Gaara, with paper cups and bendy-straws… It wasn't a very formal welcoming… but they still felt welcomed. They all were having a fun time, talking with their new friends, sipping away at sodas filled with ice. Soon the conversation was animated with small talk. Little things here and there about one another.

"I can't believe it's been only half a year since this place opened up… Though, I have to admit, I haven't been to the shopping district much since then… It's a little sad, because a lot of the stores have closed down there, and--"

"You can't blame it all on Junes, Chie, right?"

"It's all about convenience. With a large mall like this, especially in a small town, people naturally would come here, because most things you would need are all right next to one another. Plus, prices would most likely be cheaper. But the shopping district probably has more authentic shops, selling things you can't find in a mall. Quality is usually better in a smaller store as well."

"Wow, Gaara, I never knew you were so smart about this sorta stuff." Naruto was a little impressed.

Yosuke rapidly looked over a few tables, as a girl in a store uniform sat down. She was looking a little sullen…

"It's Saki-senpai!" He quickly got up and walked towards her."

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"Saki Konishi. Her family runs a liquor store in the shopping district. She works here part-time though."

"Wow, you look pretty tired."

"Oh, hi Hana-chan. Finally I get my break. What's up? Bribing your friends to come here?" She joked.

"Oh! Now that hurts, madam!" He laughed. "But seriously… you look a little down, did something bad happen?"

"Nothing, I'm just a little exhausted from work, is all."

"Well, if you need to talk about something, I'm always around to listen."

"I'm okay, really." She chuckled. "Thanks. I appreciate your concern. I wish I didn't leave for school so early, yesterday…"

"Huh?"

"Oh! Are those the transfer students?"

They walked back over to the table with Naruto, Gaara, and Chie.

"Hey, you two must be the transfer students. I'm Saki Konishi, a friend of Hana-chan. It's nice to see that he's making some more friends. I don't see him hanging out with anyone really."

"Hey, don't say that! It's not entirely true…"

"Well, you need to tell him right away, to his face, if he gets annoying, got that?" she joked.

"Nah, he seems like a pretty cool guy to me!" Naruto smiled.

"Yup, I know, I was only kidding around. Well, looks like my break is over… I'll see you around sometime." She waved goodbye. "Laters!"

"Oh, ah… Senpai!" Yosuke yelled, but she was gone already.

"What did you want to tell her?" Inquired Gaara.

"Oh, nothing special really, just had something I forgot to ask, but I'll bring it up next time I see her. She's a pretty good friend to, though, she sometimes treats me the same way she treats her little brother."

"Oh, you don't want her to think of you as a brother? Oh, I get it, so that's how it is…" laughed Chie. "The daughter of a local family-run liquor store and the scion of the invading chain… The flame of forbidden love!"

"What!? Dude, it isn't like that at all!"

"Oh raaaally… Well, I know just how to cure your lovesick heart. Have you heard of the Midnight Channel? You must looking into a TV, switched off, exactly at midnight, on a rainy night. While you stare deeply into your reflection, another person will appear on the screen. And they say, that person is your soul mate."

"What? And for a second there, I thought you were going to say something helpful… What's so exciting about some childish urban legend?"

"Hey, that sounds cool!"

"Calm down, Naruto." Gaara pulled him back into his seat as he stood up.

"Childish, huh? You don't believe it do you, Yosuke!?"

"Duh, who would?"

"Well guess what? It's raining tonight! We'll all try it, then you'll see!"

"Wait, does that mean that you haven't tried it yet? I swear, this is getting even more stupid the longer I hear it… Anyway, to talk about something logical… You hear about that incident yesterday? You know, about the woman found hanging upside down? Do you think it was murder? I bet the culprit is still lurking around." Yosuke started laughing in a creepy manner.

"Sheesh, you shouldn't joke about those sorts of things! Now who's childish? All I'm saying is… you guys better try it out tonight!"

"Fine, fine! But just to prove that it's completely stupid."

The gang split up and started walking home after that.

"So, Gaara, you think we should try it to?"

"It's ridiculous, there is no way that it's true."

"Let's just give it a shot anyway. Chie wants us to."

"I guess, it's not like I have much else to do, seeing as I still can't sleep for more then a couple of hours."

When they got home, Nanako had dinner already out on the table in front of the TV. They each said hi, and the boys sat down and began to eat in silence. Nanako was eating silently, and had a melancholy look upon her face. They both could tell that she wanted her father to be there."

"He, don't worry about your dad, Nanako-chan." Naruto tried to cheer her up.

"Yeah, I know…"

The front door suddenly opened.

"Oh, he's home!" She shouted.

"What a day at work… seems like things just get longer… Did anything happen while I was out?"

"No, you're late again…" she scolded.

"Sorry, I've just been so busy at work… Could you put the news on for me, Nanako?"

She turned the TV on as Dojima sat down on the couch, obviously fatigued. The news went on more about the mysterious death of the announcer. The police were currently investigating the love triangle between the secretary, Namatame, his wife, and Yamano. It was confirmed that there was indeed a lovers affair between Namatame and Yamano. They announced that there was an interview with the discoverer of the corpse. Apparently, a high school student was the first to discover the body. She was on screen, being interviewed, but her face and voice were disguised. Despite that, Naruto and Gaara thought she looked familiar, as the reporter continued to question her, and get farther off topic.

"Does that look like Saki-senpai, the girl Yosuke was talking to earlier?" Naruto whispered to Gaara.

"Yes, they didn't exactly to a fantastic job trying to disguise her…"

Eventually, the reporter's barrage of irrelevant questions ended, and there was a commercial.

"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products. ~Every day's great at your Junes!~"

Nanako mimicked the song, smiling with glee as she did.

"Hey Dad, can we go to Junes soon? …Dad?"

Dojima started snoring on the couch. He had fallen asleep… It was getting pretty late, so Nanako returned to bed, and Gaara was assisting Dojima into his bedroom. After all that, the boys went up to there room.

"So, what do you think about this 'Midnight Channel,' Gaara?"

"It's probably just some silly rumor… Like I said, I'll do it with you, since there isn't much else to do during the night."

Naruto waited in anticipation as the clock slowly ticked. The sounds of seconds passing seemed to intensify as it grew ever closer to midnight. Gaara checked out the window, it was pouring down rain.

"Shut the curtains, Gaara."

He did, and turned off the lights. Naruto stared intensely at the screen, as Gaara stood a little way behind him. It was midnight, and it stared at him. The giant cerulean eyes of a blonde ninja…

"Aww… I was hoping something would happen…"

"I told you tha--"

The TV started to fuzz, and there was a luminescent glow from the screen. Both of them stood, staring at the screen, dumbfounded. It looked like a girl, with long hair, who was… dancing? The picture was unclear, turning off and on. They couldn't make out who it was, but it was definitely a girl. There was some sort of voice inside Naruto's head.

"I am thou… Thou art I. Thou art the one, who opens the door…"

Lightning stuck outside.

Naruto reached out to touch the screen, but instead of feeling glass… his hand slowly got sucked into the screen of their small television set. Naruto and Gaara were freaking out, as it sucked in Naruto's head to. Gaara got behind him, put his arms around Naruto's waist, and tried to pull him out. They both flew backwards and crashed on the table.

There was a knock to the door.

"Are you okay!?" It was Nanako.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just tripped. Did I wake you, Nanako-chan?" Naruto felt a little guilty.

"I heard a really loud noise… Sorry, good night…"

"We have to tell Yosuke and Chie tomorrow."

"What the hell happened to you, Naruto?"

"That's what I'd like to know… And what was all this, 'I am thou. Thou art I' business?"

"Huh?"

"Maybe it was just my imagination… Let's just try to get a little sleep. We can talk about it more with the others tomorrow."

Both tired to sleep, but the event kept both up most of the night.

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**Let me know what you readers think. I've been trying to change the beginning a little more, but like I said before, it needs to stay pretty similar until after the first visit to the castle.**


	4. Other Side

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or Naruto, this is strictly a fan made story**

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The morning had come all to quickly, and both Naruto and Gaara were still a little freaked from last night. Could they have just dreamed it all? But they still remember the pain from the fall onto the table, there is no way they could have just imagined it all. The best thing to do would be go to school and explain the situation to Chie and Yosuke. Downstairs, they began eating breakfast. It was very quiet.

"Are you sure you guys are okay? Did you get hurt last night?"

"That? Don't worry about it, Nanako-chan. It was just a little trip."

"If you say so, Naruto."

It was time for them to leave right after they finished their food. The boys' heads were lost in thought the whole walk to school, thinking of some sort of logical explanation for what happened. Nothing could be a real reason to why a TV screen ripples as you put your hand in. They stayed quiet all morning, and thought to bring it up after school. Class was history, with some odd teacher wearing an Egyptian head dress, and holding an Egyptian scepter. Hours flew by, neither of them could really concentrate on her lecture, although it was mostly her talking about herself. Chie and Yosuke approached them when school ended.

"Hey, you both watched it right? It's actually true! I really saw a girl! But… my soul mate is a girl…? What does that mean?"

"Yea, I saw a girl to. She had this brown, shoulder length hair, and she was dancing… or something like that, but I couldn't really see much… what about you two?"

"The same, a girl, dancing, long, brown hair… That much was clear, but the rest wasn't focused enough." Gaara explained.

"No way! That sounds just like the girl I saw. Does this mean, we all saw the same person?"

"There is something else… I heard this weird voice in my head when we saw it… and when I touched the screen… my hand phased through it! Like it was water! It felt empty, and it started sucking me in, till my head got stuck in, but I had my eyes closed. I couldn't fit inside it, so Gaara started pulling me out."

Chie and Yosuke looked at each other for a second, then started laughing hysterically.

"It's true, I saw it to."

"Are you sure you both weren't just dreaming? I mean, you've known each other for a long time, and were thinking the same thing when you both fell asleep. That happens." Yosuke questioned.

_But I can't really fall asleep, unless I make myself. I should probably not say anything for now…_

"Well, anyway, talking about TV, my family was talking about getting a new one. Ours is kind of old… Why don't we stop at Junes and check some of them out? You can give me some advice on what to get, Yosuke."

"Sure, Chie. You two should come to."

After they all left school, they walked into Junes' electronics department. Many different devices were stacked all around. Naruto even made everyone stop near the massage chairs, to get a free demo. Gaara rolled his eyes as Naruto let out a sound of pleasure from the "magic" machine. When they reached the TV section, there were dozens all over the two walls, with one rather large one dead center in the perpendicular wall to their view. It was a really interesting place, and the two ninjas were a little curious as to why there weren't many people in the entire department.

"Wow, that thing's huge! Who could watch something like that?" Chie was stunned at the main one's size.

"We've had that one for a while. No one buys it, because it's just so big, and the price is too much. We really only have it for decoration."

The two looked at Naruto and Gaara, then pressed their hands to the screen.

"Nope, can't get my hand threw." Yosuke joked.

"Yeah, this sure is solid!"

"Okay, okay, it's funny, we get it. Ha ha…" Naruto fumed.

"Well, I doubt we're buying this one. So Yosuke, which one is good on a cheap budget?"

Those two carried on looking at other TVs, while Naruto and Gaara went up to the big one.

"Do you think we could have just imagined the entire scenario?"

"I don't know, Gaara. I know we were both awake at the time, you especially."

Naruto pressed his hand to the screen, lost in thought. To his and Gaara's amazement, his hand phased in again. Both were too shocked to say anything. Yosuke and Chie were arguing about something, and didn't notice until they turned around.

"Holy shit! Your hand!" Yosuke screamed.

"It's in the TV. Oh jeez… this is too weird! Sorry, you were really telling the truth."

Naruto got an idea, and he pulled his hand out, then stuck his head inside.

"Wha…!? Don't do that! You're going to give me a heart attack!" Chie was panicking.

"It's really… spacious in here. Empty really."

"What do you mean 'spacious'! It's a TV, it's not supposed to be spacious inside! This is way too much for my bladder!"

"What the!? You're not going to piss your pants are you!?"

They heard some footsteps from other costumers approaching.

"What are we going to do!? People are coming and we have half a guy stuck inside a TV here!" Chie shouted.

Yosuke and Chie started panicking harder, running back and forth. Gaara got in-between them.

"You two, calm dow--"

The two crashed into Gaara, and fell towards the TV, sending them all fully inside. All of them fell on their backs, in some strange, foggy area.

**(Quick note: Those of you who have played Persona 4 know just how bizarre the designed of the locations are. So please bear with me when I try to describe them for you. It's not easy.)**

Four students came falling from the sky in this foggy room, landing hard on their backs. When they got up, they took the moment to look around the room. It looked like some sort of TV studio, shrouded in yellow fog, so thick you cannot see farther beyond your hand in front of your face. The floor looked like some sort of black and white circular tunneling illusion, with body prints all around, as if they were all chalk outlines, but fully colored in white. All of these body prints had the heads pointing towards the center.

"Man that hurt… Is everyone okay!?" Naruto shouted.

"Fine, just a little sore from the impact… Chie, Yosuke, how about you two?"

"Alive… That was some painful fall though. How are you holding up, Yosuke?"

"Same as you guys. Where are we?"

"Maybe it's… a TV studio…? I can't tell… this feels so strange…" Gaara was confused. "There is just this… ominous feeling that I can't shake."

"We have to go back! I don't want to stay here!" Chie almost started crying.

"Calm down, Chie… It doesn't look like there is a place we came in… There has to be an exit somewhere, we just have to go look for it." Naruto took lead.

Everyone agreed. If there wasn't an exit where they came in, then there is no use staying there. Cautiously they walked across the catwalk to the right. It was like walking on a fire escape, without knowing just how far down the fall is. Chie made sure NOT to look down. To Naruto and Gaara, the entire place, the atmosphere especially, felt like it was some sort of genjutsu, but that couldn't possibly be, seeing as they fell into a TV. A door came into view, but it was open, with some sort of red and black circular optical illusion. The pattern was similar to that on the floor of the first room, but the circles moved outward towards the group.

**(Like I said, not easy to describe. Though if you've played Persona 4 you know what I'm talking about. The way the doors look to the entrance to all of the dungeons.)**

"Hey, do you think that's an exit? It looks sort of like a portal." Yosuke pondered.

"Let's take a look inside. It's not like there are any other doors around…"

They started walking, while Chie was power walking behind them. She seemed a little spooked.

Behind that mysterious "door" was this, bizarre, ominous bedroom. Along the opposite wall of the door was a bed, with some shelves above, a plant, and a large, sunlit window. The four walked in cautiously, as if waiting for something to jump out and attack. It felt different then the other place, quiet, secret.

"Where is this place… Where are we…" Chie calmed down a little.

"It's like we've entered a new world… Nothing here feels like our world. It's all just too different…" Gaara prophetically spoke.

"Um… Guys!?" Yosuke sounded frightened.

Facing the door, to that wall and the one to the left, were covered in dozens of posters, both walls also spattered with blood. The posters were of someone, in a kimono, but the faces of every flyer was ripped out. All of them, even Gaara, felt fear from the room.

"This can't be… Where is this place? WHAT is this place?" Naruto shook a little.

_It's like genjutsu come real!_

"Look, all the faces of these posters were cut out. Somebody must really hate this person." Chie thought.

"Jeez, I can't take it anymore! My bladder is going to explode!"

Yosuke ran to the wall opposite to the window, and unzipped his fly.

"Yo-Yosuke! Don't tell me you're going to do that HERE!" Chie shouted.

"C-Come on guys, turn around! I can't go with everyone watching! Forget it, I can't do this here!"

Just as he zipped back up, and turned around, something he noticed freaked him even more then the room.

"Guys… Please tell me this isn't what I think it is…"

It was a chair, facing the wall, with a rope tied in a noose above it. There was also a bright red scarf on the noose."

"What is this about? What manifestation is this…"

"Can we please just go back and forget this place!? It's a dead end anyway!"

"Chie, calm down! You've been freakin' out ever since we got here, it's not helping!"

"N-Naruto?" She took a breath. "You're right, I'm sorry. Let's try going back, we need to get out, right?"

"Right."

They were able to return to the large room where they first entered, but something was different. Off in the distance, within the fog, was some strange figure…

"What is that?" Yosuke questioned.

They all became alert when it started walking towards them. It looked like some large teddy bear in a red jumpsuit.

"Is that some sort of monkey, or a bear maybe?" Chie asked.

Naruto looked at it funny.

"Who are you guys? Why are you here?" It asked.

"Ah, it talked! Wh-What are you!? Y-You want to fight!?" Chie stuttered.

It backed away and cowered in fear.

"No! I don't want to fight! Don't yell at me like that!"

"Please, we're sorry, could you just tell us where this place is?" Naruto spoke up.

"This place? It is what it is… There is no name for it… Listen, if I were you, I would hurry back to the other side. This place gets so scary when the fog, here, lifts. Someone has been throwing people in here to… It's such a headache…"

"Throwing people? In here?"

"Well, I don't know who's doing it! I just want them to stop and think of what they're doing before it happens again!"

"Excuse me!? What gives you the right to yell at us like that!?" He coward when Chie scolded him. "What are you!? Where are we!? What is going on here!?"

He ran and hid behind Naruto.

"I already told you… Please, hurry back."

"Do you want us to get out of here?" questioned Yosuke. "Well WE want to leave here to, dammit! We don't know how!"

The bear started getting ticked off.

"That's why I'm saying I'll let you out!"

He stomped on the floor a couple of times, and three red TVs stacked upon one another appeared in the center of the vortex on the floor.

"What the!? Where did these TVs come from!?" Chie inquired.

They were small, but the bear started pushing them in.

"Hey, what are you doing!? Watch that!" Gaara yelled.

Before they knew it, they were shoved out from the giant TV at Junes, and were back in the electronics department.

"Attention, shoppers. Our daily limited-time sale will now begin at the side dish area on the first floor. Why not try the delicious fresh produce that Junes picked for you this morning as your side dish for dinner tonight? All ages are invited to take advantage of this incredible bargain!" The announcements turned off after that.

"Crap, it's that late already!?" Yosuke was shocked.

"We were in there for quite the long time, I suppose. I expected we were there for a much shorter time period…"

"Hey, Guys, look!"

Naruto pointed to the wall.

"You're right!" Chie gasped. "That's the same poster that we found all over the walls in that bedroom. I couldn't tell who it was before, but now that I see it, it's defiantly her."

"Mitsuzu Hiiragi, the wife of that secretary they found having an affair with that announcer woman." Yosuke pointed out.

"That mysterious bedroom… Could it possibly be related to that woman's death? The police, after all, haven't even been able to find out how she was murdered. If it was in that room, then it would make sense that there is a lot of unidentifiable information on her, seeing as that isn't a very logical location."

"And that creepy-ass noose hanging from the ceiling…"

"Stop, please. Sorry, Naruto, but I really don't wan to hear more. Let's just go home for today, and try to forget this."

"Yosuke is right." Gaara leaned towards Naruto. "Especially since we're powerless at the moment."

"Yea, I really want to go home and just rest…" Chie whined.

They said goodbye and started to walk home.

* * * * *

Naruto and Gaara arrived back home to see Dojima and Nanako with noodles, watching TV.

"Ah, you both are home. Did you two go out?"

"Yes, we went to Junes with some new friends, I guess we sorta lost track of time. Sorry…"

"You don't have to apologize, Naruto. You're free to do what you want, just remember that there are consequences for everything."

They both sneezed.

"Ha, see? What did I tell you? Nanako, could you fetch them the cold medicine for them? You to should take it and go right to bed, okay?"

They agreed, took their medicine, and headed off to bed.

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**Sorry I took a while to come out with this one, had some work to do with history class. Be sure to give me some reviews. **


	5. NOTICE

**IMPORTANT: **In the next chapter, **SOCIAL LINKS **will begin, meaning that there needs to be a choice between which sport for the **STRENGTH **Arcana, and which club for the **SUN **Arcana.

Please send me a **PRIVATE MESSAGE **stating which club you would like Naruto to join, and which sport. Whichever has the most points by the deadline will be the one chosen. Your choices are:

**SPORT:**

**Basketball - Kou Ichijou**

**Soccer - Daisuke Nagase**

**CLUB:**

**Music - Ayane Matsunaga**

**Drama - Yumi Ozawa**

You, the readers, may vote only **ONCE** for each Arcana. Since both are established early, the deadline for voting will be **FEBRUARY 6, 2009**. After that day, you may no longer vote on one or the other.

**LOVER'S LINKS** will also be determined by you, the readers. You may choose:

**Chie Satonaka**

**Yukiko Amagi**

**Rise Kujikawa**

**Naoto Shirogane**

**Yumi Ozawa / Ayane Matsunaga**

**Ai Ebihara**

Seeing as I have already received a personal request from a friend of mine, you may also vote for:

**Gaara**

As of now there is no deadline for the Lover's Link, because it will be quite a while before that happens in the story, I will update when a deadline forms.

Remember, you may vote only once for each category (Sport, Club, Lover's Link) I **WILL **be keeping track of who votes.

Please PM me if you wish to vote.

**-TTwing**


	6. A Persona

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or Naruto**

**Sorry I haven't updated the story in a while, I've been very sick all week, and just slept most of the day, but I'm better now. I'm going to put more effort into getting these chapters out, cause there are going to be quite a lot.**

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The fog had set in Inaba, and the walk to school was quiet and awkward for Naruto and Gaara. When they arrived at school, there were directed towards the auditorium, along with their classmates. Yukiko was absent from school.

"I called her earlier, she said she was extremely busy with work at the inn. Do any of you know what this assembly is about?"

"Nope, sorry Chie." Yosuke applied.

An old man walked up to the podium, with a long white beard. Their history teacher introduced him, then stepped to the side.

"I regret to tell you all, that a terrible event has struck our school… A third-year student, Saki Konishi, has passed away…"

Yosuke immediately looked up from his cross-armed position.

"Did he say she passed away?" Chie asked.

"Poor Yosuke…" Naruto felt upset.

The principle talked about her more, giving the students a positive look to remember her by. Class carried on after the assembly, and it passed slowly until school ended. Yosuke had approached Naruto, Gaara, and Chie, who were chatting in the hall.

"Hey, do you have a minute, Naruto, Gaara?"

"Sure, what's up, Yosuke?"

"I want to go back to that place from yesterday. I know it has something to do with Saki-senpai's death, and I want to find out what. Will you guys come with me?"

"Wha-! You want us to go back THERE!? You guys agree with me, right?" Chie freaked.

"Come on, please… I'm going no matter what, so if you want to join me…"

He walked away.

"Hey, Yosuke! Don't just walk off!" Naruto yelled.

"We should go stop him right!?"

"Actually, I think we should join him…"

"You sure, Gaara? Well, if you want to go, then I'm going to."

"You guys! Let's at least catch up with him!"

They all agreed, and ran to Junes. Yosuke really planned to go back into that weird world. When they all reached the electronics department, he was waiting there with a golf club and rope tied around his waist, and holding the rest.

"Yosuke! You can't possibly be serious about going back there! Did you forget that we almost didn't come out the last time?"

"I know that, but I need to find out why Saki-senpai was killed. Are you two coming with me?"

"Yes, we will." Gaara spoke.

"Thanks… Naruto, Gaara. Chie, I'm going to trust you with this."

He handed her the end of the rope.

"Is this… a lifeline?"

"Yup, and this is for you, Naruto. I know that it's not exactly the best weapon, but we don't know what's in there. You seem like the type that's good with his hands."

"Oh, thanks. Sure, I'll back you guys up!"

_Maybe I should have brought some kunais with me… A golf club isn't exactly a master weapon. Wonder why he gave it to me and not Gaara. He never has used weapons before though, it's always been his sand._

The three of them climbed in before Chie could say anything else, so she just held onto the rope. They landed in the same, strange, misty, yellow room from before.

"Hey! You guys again!? I thought I told you it's dangerous here! Since you came here twice, you must be the culprits behind who's throwing people in here!"

It was that strange bear from before.

"Hey, don't go pointing fingers at us! We're not the culprit, we're here trying to find out about the murders!"

"Yeah, right! You guys are the only people I've seen that could get here! You have to be the criminals!"

"You are mistaken, Bear. We only came to investigate." Gaara tried to reason.

"No, I'M the one investigating here! And my name isn't 'Bear' it's Teddie!"

"Okay, Teddie, listen to us! I promise, we're not the culprits, we just want to find out why those people who were thrown in here die." Naruto spoke.

"People have died? It's probably because the shadows got to them. When the mist in your world appears, it lifts in this world. That's when the shadows get violent. I always hide during then…"

"Shadows?" All three asked at once.

"The things that live here, besides me of course."

"What are you?" Asked Yosuke.

"I told you! I'm Teddie!"

"That isn't what I meant…"

"Anyway, I thought I told you guys to stay away from here! That's why I think you must be the culprits!"

"A friend of ours was a victim of these 'shadows' you mentioned. If she was indeed thrown in here, and killed here, then that's what we want to find out."

"Really? You don't seem like you're lying… Fine, if you aren't the criminals, then promise you'll find the culprit and stop them from throwing people in here! I just want my home to be the way it used to be… Promise or I won't let you out."

"We don't need your help getting out. See I thought ahe--"

He grabbed the rope tied around his waist, to find out that it had been severed.

"Never mind…Talk about holding a gun to our heads… Fine, we promise, we'll help you out." Yosuke said.

Naruto, Gaara, and Yosuke gave Teddie their names.

"Okay, you guys, if you're going to be looking through this place, then you'll need these."

He pulled out a few pairs of glasses from who-knows-where and handed one to each boy. Yosuke's were slightly rectangular, and a pale orange color. Naruto's were oval shaped, with a thin blue metal frame, and orange tinted lenses, much like the ninja outfit he wore until he came here. Gaara's were also oval shaped, but had a dark red frame, like that of his hair, and regular lenses.

"Holy shit! It's like all the fog is gone!" Naruto yelled.

Recovering from their brief moment of shock, they boys went back to the current situation.

"Okay, Teddie, could you lead us to the last place you can recall sensing the last person that was here?"

"Sure, Gaara. Follow me!"

Teddie led them into, what looked like a long, swerved road. It was identical to the shopping district that Naruto and Gaara had to go through on their way to school. Though here there was a glowing, red and black striped sky, where the strips moved. It looked similar to the door that led to the strange bedroom they went in yesterday.

"Is this… The shopping district…? Was this where Saki-Senpai died…?" Yosuke muttered.

"I don't know who this 'Saki-senpai' person is… but this was the last place where someone was."

"Why choose to replicate this part of town?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know. This is reality for the one who's here."

"As usual, nothing you say makes any sense… Say, if this place has been replicated, then we're not far from Saki-senpai's…"

They continued up the road, until they reached a door to a liquor store, that had the same red and black doorway as before.

"This is her home… Did she die here…?"

"Ahh!"

"Teddie, what's wrong!" Naruto got nervous.

"They're here! The shadows! They're going to attack!"

Two blue, sad looking masks appeared from the door, and fell to the ground, held up by some black muck. All of them felt afraid. Naruto and Gaara couldn't even fight them in their state. They started rushing towards the group, and Yosuke fell on his butt. The shadows passed him, and Gaara, and were headed towards Naruto. I his head, there was a voice.

_I am Thou…_

The shadows leaped into the air, making a sphere of their muck.

_Thou art I…_

The spheres turned into some black and pink, zebra-like spheres.

_The time has come…_

They turned towards Naruto, with large red lips, and long moist tongues.

_Open thyn eyes_… _and call forth what is within!_

Naruto opened his eyes. There was a blue card with a mask in his hand. Teddie was looking at him in shock. Naruto turned over the card. It was black, but a light appeared, creating the silhouette of a fox on the card. And he smiled.

"PER - SO - NA"

The instant he finished the word the card ignited into a blue flame. Naruto lifted the card, and crushed it in his hand.

"PERSONA!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The dormant Kyuubi inside arose from inside of Naruto. Gaara feared the worse for that split second. He had a different appearance then Naruto has seen before, and was much smaller, though still relatively large compared to humans. It vanished into Naruto, as he prepared to fight.

"Naruto, I can't help much in a fight, but I'll supply you with info." Teddie told him.

Naruto summoned that card, and crushed it in his palm. The Kyuubi appeared, spread out its tails, and snarled at a shadow. _**~Zio~ **_A small bolt of lightning struck it. Naruto charged, and smashed the driver into the weakened shadow.

"Yes! Those ones are weak to electricity. I'll keep record of what is weak or strong to what! Careful, the other one is going to attack!"

The other shadow flew at Naruto, then bashed him with its tongue. He then repeated the process that killed the other shadow. In-between attacks, Kyuubi disappeared, and seemed to obey Naruto, which confused Gaara. After the battle, the Kyuubi reappeared floating in front of Naruto. It vanished again. This time, a card arose where it was, and fell down to Naruto. It went away after reaching his eye-level.

_~ Naruto Uzumaki has faced his other self… He has obtained the façade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona __**Kyuubi**__!~_

"What was that!?" Yosuke shouted in amazement. "Did you say, "Persona"!? What was that!?"

"Calm down, Yosuke! You're troubling Sensai."

_I never once, in my life, EVER thought anyone would end up calling Naruto, Sensei…_

"You're amazing, Sensei! Am I ever impressed! No wonder the shadows were scarred and wanted to attack you! I never imagined you had such power!"

"Heh… Thanks."

"Were you the one able to pull people into this world?"

"Yea, no one else could get through until I tried."

"Simply amazing! Don't you think, Gaara, Yosuke?"

Yosuke pushed Teddie.

"Dude! You go about calling Naruto, 'Sensei' but don't give us any respect!?"

"Oh… Sorry…"

"You're support was pretty tight though, I have to say."

"Really?"

"It would be nice to have some backup for Naruto when he fights." Gaara said.

Everyone went on guard as a bunch of voices appeared out of nowhere. It sounded like a crowded room, where you can't make out the words, but just hear a lot of chatting, like a school cafeteria.

"I wish Junes would go under…" A female voice could be heard.

"It's all because of that store!" Another woman spoke.

"I heard that Konishi-san's daughter is working there." An older female said.

"Oh, my… How could she, with her family's business suffering like it is…?"

"I heard their sales have gone downhill because of Junes."

"S-stop it…" Yosuke whispered.

"That poor father… to have his own daughter working for the enemy."

"What a troublesome child…"

"Ted! You said that this place is reality for those who are hear right? Does that mean that this was Saki-senpai's reality while she was wandering in here?"

"I'm sorry, Yosuke. I only know about what's over here.

"Fine, then I'm going to find out for myself."

Yosuke walked into the red and black door, with the others following him. Inside was a large, dark room, lit by only one overhead light. It looked like a warehouse for wine, liquor, and other alcoholic drinks. More voices started appearing.

"Dammit…" Yosuke muttered.

This time it was a man, and he was yelling loudly…

"Saki, how many times do I have to tell you!? You know what the neighbors say about you, right!? Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generations! Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work THERE, of all places!"

"I can't believe this… Is this her father?" Yosuke kept muttering to himself.

"Yosuke…" Gaara and Naruto whispered in unison.

Both of them felt the sorrow that must've been going through him at the time.

"She always seemed like she was having fun at work. Like she liked it there. She never mentioned anything like this to me… You're telling me THIS is how Saki-senpai really saw things!?"

They all ran over to the desk closer to the back of the room. On it was a picture of her and Yosuke in their uniforms. There were the other part-time workers in the photo as well. The picture was all cut up.

"I… never got the chance to say it…"

"Is that… Senpai's voice!?"

"I always wanted to tell Hana-chan…"

"M-me…?"

"That he was a real pain in the ass!"

The group's jaws dropped. All of them were speechless. Naruto and Gaara looked at Yosuke.

"I was nice to him just because he was the store manager's son, that's all! But he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic… what a dip."

"Pain in the ass…? Enthusiastic dip…?"

"Who cares about Junes, anyway? Because of that store, our business is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbors talk behind my back… I wish everything would just disappear…"

"It's a lie… It can't be true… Senpai's not like that!"

"it's *sniff* so sad… I feel so sorry for myself… Boo hoo…" It came from a voice that sounded identical to Yosuke's, but all of them could just feel the malice in the words. It couldn't be Yosuke.

They turned to the right wall, to see a replica of Yosuke, with bright yellow eyes, and covered with a dark blue, flame-like aura.

"Actually, I'm the one who things everything's a pain in the ass, Hahahaha…

Teddie ran in.

"Huh!? Two Yosukes…?

"Who are you!?" The real one asked. "I wouldn't think that…"

"Hahaha… Yeah, right. How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the shopping district and, Junes too! You're sick of everything, especially living out in the sticks!"

"What are you saying…? That's not true, I--"

"You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being alone. The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be surrounded by people to block out the pain of isolation. And what's this about checking out this world for Saki-senpai's sake? Hah! I know the real reason you came snooping…"

"S-stop it!"

"Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe… I DO know everything you're thinking! Why's that…? Because I AM you! You just came because you thought it sounded like a good time! What else is there to do out in this shithole? A world inside the TV--now that's exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you!?"

"That's not true… Stop… Stop it…"

"You're just trying to act like a big shot… If all went well, hey, maybe you could even be a hero! And that Senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was the perfect excuse!"

"That's not true! What are you? Who are you!?"

"*Chuckle* I already told ya. I'm you… You're shadow… There's nothing I don't know about you!"

"Screw that! I don't know you! You can't be me, you son of a bitch!!"

"Hahahah… HAHAHAHAHA! That's right! Say it again!"

"You're not me! You're nothing like me!"

"Hmf! Yeah, that's right. I am me now! I'm not you anymore, see?"

Yosuke backed away, in fear, as his shadow was engulfed in a thick black aura, transforming into some giant shadow. He fainted.

"Yosuke! I'll take care of him, you fight that thing, Naruto!" Gaara commanded.

It looked like some giant frog with a body attached to its back. Naruto got ready to battle.

"I am a shadow… The true self… I'll crush everything that bores me… Starting with you! Get out of my sight!"

_**~Wind of Oblivion~ **_It jumped up, and went landing, released a wave of air that knocked Naruto down. _**~Power Charge~ **_a pale pink like light came from under the shadow.

"How long can you survive this?"

"This one's much stronger then the last type! Be careful! Whenever you feel threatened, just defend yourself!"

"Right!"

Naruto held up the driver, and blocked as the shadow tried to smack him. He was able to avoid most of the damage, but got a little hurt from the impact.

"Kyuubi!"

_**~Zio~ **_A bolt of electricity struck it, and Yosuke's Shadow fell on its back.

"Good going, Naruto! You found his weakness!"

Naruto repeated the action, but he got up this time. Instead of attacking, it blocked with its hands.

"Don't attack, Naruto! It's guarding its weak point!"

He followed Teddie's order, and decided to brace himself. _**~Wind of Oblivion~ **_The shadow tried to re-exploit Naruto's weakness, but luckily, Naruto was prepared, and blocked the attack. He then followed by repeating _**~Zio~ **_and knocking it down.

"Heh, that's it…? Boring…"

_**~Power Charge~ **_Yosuke's Shadow powered up again. Naruto summoned Kyuubi again to _**~Zio~**_ and hit its weak point. This time when it attacked, Naruto was unprepared, and took a nasty hit from its hand. He was upset now, and did just one _**~Zio~**_ before the shadow fell over.

"Damn you to hell!"

It collapsed and erupted an explosion of that energy it first used to transform. He won the fight.

"Congratulations Sensei, you did it!"

"He's waking up!" Gaara shouted.

Yosuke got up.

"I… I…"

"Yosuke, are you okay!?" Teddie asked.

"Yeah, that was pretty rough, you hurt anywhere?" Naruto agreed.

"Yea… What… happened…?"

He turned to his shadow, which was now back in Yosuke's appearance. It had a blank expression.

"You… You're… not me…"

"That thing came from you, Yosuke… You have to admit it… or it'll go berserk again…" Teddie explained.

Yosuke seemed very reluctant to admit it though. Naruto let his hand rest on Yosuke's shoulder.

"Don't worry. You're still yourself."

"Myself… Dammit… It hurts to face yourself… I knew it wasn't lying… But I was so ashamed that I didn't want to admit it… You're me… and I'm you. When you get down to it, all of this is me."

The shadow nodded in agreement.

_~The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest…_

The shadow change to what looked like a more calmed down version of what Naruto fought, just the body, with the legs. As with Naruto, it vanished, and a card appeared, which then floated down to Yosuke and disappeared.

…_Yosuke has faced his other self… He has obtained the façade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona __**Jiraiya**__!~_

"This is my Persona… Jiraiya…"

It pained Naruto deeply to hold back the laughter that was about to follow, yet miraculously defeated the urge.

"When we heard Senpai's voice… I wonder if that was something had been keeping deep down inside… Haha… 'He was a real pain in the ass,' huh? What a way to find out… Geez, this is so embarrassing… If you weren't here, I don't know what would have happened… Thanks, Naruto."

"No problem! That's what friends are for!"

Naruto extended his hand, and gave Yosuke a lift up.

_Yosuke… He faced his true feelings… Is that power so strong, so grand? But what about me…? Do I have a true self? Do I have true feelings? Do I even exist? Does 'Gaara" exist? Everyone things I'm nothing more then a monster, no, a vessel for a monster…_

Gaara gripped his head.

"Gaara…? What's wrong?" Naruto got concerned.

"The little baby is finally accepting the true!"

A Shadow of Gaara appeared by the entrance.

"He's a monster, nothing more, isn't that right?"

"No! I am not a monster!"

"Why not? How many people have suffered because of you? Because of us? We're monsters and you know it! Everyone on the planet knows this, and believes it!"

"That's not true!"

"Oh, you're right. Everyone but HIM!" He looked at Naruto.

"That Idiot believes that you're actually a person. How sweet, and touching. Too bad you don't give a damn! As a matter of fact, you HATE him! He's the same as you, yet look at him! Look at all his precious people. Everyone loves him, everyone wants to be his friend, everyone looks up to him. He's got everything in the world, including all the stupidity!"

"Don't badmouth my friend!"

"You're friend!? What friend!? Hahaha… you say he's your friend, but deep down, you can't stand him! He's got everything in the world, and actually has the gall to befriend you. It's like rich asshole holding all the money in the world and slapping it in the face of some homeless, moneyless loser. You envy Naruto, you want everything he has. You and I both know, you'd kill him in a heartbeat to get that. The only thing stopping you is that he's stronger then you."

"Shut up!"

"The fact that you can't win to him, makes you want to kill yourself. You know you want to do it. You've tried to do it! But it's not the monster inside that's stopping you. You're just too damn weak!"

"I said shut up!" Gaara started crying.

"Gaara…" Naruto whispered.

"Now I went and made the baby cry… Face it! You're a weak little crybaby who's got nothing in this world, and is constantly reminded of that from this bitch rubbing it in your face all the time!"

"Dammit, I said shut up, you god damn bastard!"

"No, Gaara! Calm down! Don't say it!" Teddie tried to stop him.

"You're not me!"

Black energy started swarming Gaara's shadow. He turned into a strange, distorted form of the Shakaku. Gaara fell unconscious.

"Naruto, I'm a little weak, but I'm going to help you out okay."

Yosuke grabbed a pair of wrenches on the floor.

"I am a shadow… The true self… Get away from me, Naruto! Take your happiness to someone who cares, and let me rot in my despair!"

"I never knew Gaara felt this way… I've got to help him, he still doesn't understand."

_**~Sand of Despair~ **_An explosion of sand arose from below Naruto, knocking him down, it then punched Naruto while he was down.

"Watch out guys! That attack has the power to give a critical hit all the time! A critical hit is when you strike your foe in the right place, to hurt them more and knock them down. Yosuke, your Persona can help you guys recover. Curative abilities are helpful, because they can restore your health if you're injured."

"Okay, thanks Ted. Let's do this, Jiraiya!"

The card appeared above Yosuke, and he jumped and slashed the card. _**~Dia~**_ a small light covered Naruto.

"Thanks, that feels a lot better!"

He got up. _**~Zio~ **_A bolt hit Gaara's Shadow, but it remained standing.

"Not good enough, Naruto. This one isn't weak to electricity like the others were. You will have to try something else."

_**~Sand of Despair~**_ The explosion was below Naruto, but he was thankfully able to avoid it. _**~Garu~ **_Yosuke summoned his Persona to try a wind attack. It successfully knocked the shadow down. Yosuke repeated the action.

"Nice going, you found its weakness!"

_**~Rakunda~ **_Some purple energy swarmed the shadow and hurt its defensive powers. _**~Power Charge~**_ Like with the other shadow, this one powered up.

"Not good! If he uses that with the other attack, one of you will surely be severely injured!"

Both of them guarded and prepared for the worst. _**~Sand of Despair~**_the attack, now powered up, hit Naruto, but because he blocked, he suffered minimal damage. _**~Garu~ **_Yosuke hit it with the wind attack twice, dealing more damage because of the _**~Rakunda~ **_ability.

"Why do you want me to suffer being around your success!? Isn't it enough that I'm hated by everyone around me?"

_**~Cleave~ **_Kyuubi did some sort of biting action, and a bright blade of energy gashed Gaara's Shadow. _**~Power Charge~**_ The shadow was planning on repeating the last process.

"Don't worry about guarding this time! If you attack him now, you can beat him!"

Yosuke hit it with a double _**~Garu~ **_and Naruto finished it off. He struck it with_** ~Cleave~ **_and it fell to the ground.

"Nice going guys! You beat it!"

Naruto Immediately rushed to Gaara's side and helped him up as he awoke.

"Naruto, I--"

"I know… I heard, and I understand. I don't blame you for feeling that way, we all have secrets like that."

"You're right…"

He faced his shadow, now in a stationary, quiet state.

"You're right… Even after Naruto did all that he did to make me feel like a person, it never really helped. All I really wanted, was to have precious people. Unfortunately, the most important one, I kept neglecting, out of jealousy. I am me, and you are me. If someone doesn't like that, I shouldn't care. I only should care about those who will accept me, like Naruto did, and his friends started. I was just too blinded by it all to realize this…"

It nodded.

_~The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest…_

It turned into the Shakaku, with an altered appearance, then morphed into the blue card, which fell down into Gaara's position.

…_Gaara has faced his other self… He has obtained the façade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona __**Shakaku**__!~_

"Teddie, could what happened to me and Gaara, be the same thing that happened to Saki-senpai? Getting attacked by her other self?"

"I think so. The shadows originally were born from humans. Sometimes the fog clears, and they all go berserk… You saw what happens next. A strong-willed Shadow draws others to it. And a big mass of Shadows kills the host."

"That would explain why the murders were all on foggy days…" Gaara spoke.

"You guys must be worn out… This world wasn't made for humans, it's just not comfortable for you here. Let's go back, you guys need some rest."

They all quietly returned to the first room.

"Teddie, you said that this world becomes reality for those who enter right? That must mean that the shopping district, and that weird room from before were created by the people who were murdered. What I'm trying to say is, did those places form because of the people that enter this world?"

"I don't know… It's never happened before. But that was probably where they were when the shadows attacked them."

"So it was the same for them…" Gaara mumbled.

"This world killed them…" Naruto said.

"Like I said before, when the fog lifts here, the shadows get very violent. I sensed people here twice before, but they disappeared after the fog lifted…"

"I see how it works now. Senpai, and that Yamano woman were thrown in here by someone. Since they couldn't get out, they started wondering around. At some point, their suppressed self appeared, started badmouthing the real one, who then denied that the shadow was right, the fog cleared, the shadow went berserk, and then killed them."

"Yea, you were lucky that Sensei was here to protect you guys."

"They got stuck here, and no one could save them…" Naruto looked down. He felt helpless that he couldn't have found his power earlier.

"Sensei…"

They stayed silent for a few moments.

"They did attack us. Maybe they think of people investigating this place as enemies… It will be dangerous, but we can fight them and save anyone else who might get thrown in here!"

"Yeah, that's right! We can save people like how Naruto saved me and Gaara. I think I'm starting to understand what's going on."

"This way, we can try and catch the culprit. We can't let someone go on killing innocent people! We have to fight this!"

"That's the sprit, Sensei!"

"Sounds like we're all in agreement then." Gaara nodded.

"Will you guys… come back then?"

"Of course, Teddie!" Naruto smiled.

"You DID blackmail us into solving this case, to. Remember?" Yosuke pointed out.

"Ah, right. Well, keep in mind that you need to come in from the same place every time. If not, I wont know where to find you, and I might not be able to send you back. I'll send you guys home now, please get some rest, we'll continue some other day."

Everyone was in agreement. Teddie made the red TV screens appear, and the three boys went through then and into the Junes electronics department. They saw Chie on the ground, holding the ropes, crying. She looked up to see them back from the TV.

"Ah…! You guys came baaaack!" She was crying a lot.

"Chie! Are you okay?" Yosuke asked.

She got ticked, stood up, and hurled the rope at Yosuke, knocking him to the ground.

"Hey! What was that for!?"

"The nerve of you guys! You're all such morons! I can't believe this! You guys suck! The rope got cut off… and I had no idea what to do! You have no idea how worried and panicked I was! I was scarred stiff, dammit! I hate all of you!"

She ran off in tears.

"Chie…" Naruto felt bad.

"It was our fault… We can apologize tomorrow. We need to follow what Teddie said and get some rest."

They split up. While Naruto and Gaara walked through the rainy floodplain, they saw Yukiko sitting in a nearby gazebo-like thing. She was wearing a very lovely pink kimono. Gaara was a little tired, so they went over to her to sit down.

"Oh, hi. I suppose you're a little surprised to see me dressed in a kimono. It's how I dress when I work at the Inn, and my parents sent me on a errand. I decided to take a quick break and sit for a little. How are you both adjusting to Inaba?"

"It's a nice little town. Feels great to get away from all the work where we come from." Naruto replied.

"Yes, *pant* it's definitely a nice, relaxing place."

"Are you okay, Gaara? You seem a little worn out…"

"Oh, sorry. We went to Junes, and got involved in an accident, so we helped clean up."

_I feel terrible for lying to her, she's a really sweet person. But I can't tell her what actually happened, like she would believe that._

"Oh, I see. I've never been out of Inaba, so I don't really know what it's like to travel around. Have you been getting along with Chie? I always leave so early, so…"

"We're, ah, getting along… Heh…" Naruto stuttered.

"Something wrong with her?"

"No, its just, that incident was kind of ours and Yosuke's fault, and we dragged her into it, so we feel bad…"

_Technically it's not lying…_

"Well, I'm glad to hear it…. She's a very supportive person, always there to give you that extra little push. Well, I should be going now, I'm pretty busy today. It was nice getting to talk to you both again, seeing as I haven't really been able to."

"Bye!" they both waved in unison.

They parted from Yukiko, and Naruto helped Gaara get back home, he was still very tired.

"Hey, Naruto… About all that, I'm really sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. I feel stupid for nor realizing that it hurt you. I'm you're friend, I should notice these things. I know I'm not the brightest… but still. I guess, that is, if you still want to be friends with me."

"Of course I do. That whole event made me realize of all that jealousy and anger. I shouldn't have taken any of that out on you, since you do nothing but try to make my life easier for me, when you could just have ignored me."

"Let me know if you ever are having a hard time, I want to help you okay? That's what friends are for."

Gaara has decided to truly open up to Naruto. He could feel a faint bond forming between him and Gaara. A light shined bright in Naruto's mind. The back of the cards they had used, with the blue mask appeared there, it turned around.

_Thou art I… And I am thou…_

_Thou has established a new bond…_

_It brings thee closer to the truth…_

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating_

_Personas of the Aeon Arcana…_

Naruto has established the **Gaara** Social Link. He can now strength Personas he fuses of the **Aeon **Arcana. A voice went through his head.

"The Persona ability is the power to control one's own heart… And the heart is strengthened through bonds. As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop. The power of these Social Links is what will determine your Persona's abilities."

Gaara would now take a moral blow for Naruto. They gave each other a warm smile before reaching home. They sat down with Nanako, who had prepared some ramen from the store for dinner.

"Dad's late…"

The news was on, and they continued to talk about the murders.

"He's not coming home tonight, is he…?" Nanako pouted.

"We'll be here for you." Naruto gave her a smile, which cheered her up a little.

After they talked about Saki's death, they went on about the Yamano woman. Apparently she was staying at the Amagi Inn, and the reporter was there, trying to get an interview. On screen was Yukiko, in her kimono. The reporter started questioning her about if she was the new manager, and how amazing it sounded to have a manager in high school. What was supposed to be an interview about the first victim, turned into some personal information form. Yukiko continued to respond shyly while embarrassed by the man's questions. Eventually it ended.

"Oh, I need to do the dishes…" Nanako stood up.

Naruto stayed to help her, while Gaara went to bed, exhausted from the day's events. After they finished, both retreated to sleep as well.

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**Holy Cow was this ever a long chapter! So much information to get in one day! Now for extra info:**

**If you're used to the Japanese version, where Teddie is called Kuma, tough love, I played the English version, so I'm used to his name being Teddie. Do not complain, please.**

**Voting for Clubs is OVER and both have a clear winner, and both have a ratio of 5:2 however I will leave it for a surprise later. Voting for LOVER LINKS is still available, and we're in a tie. So please, we need more votes for that.**

**The new descriptions for Kyuubi and Shakaku are difficult, I will do my best to get a picture of my idea, and scan it into my computer, since I have a scanner. When that happens I will somehow get them on this site.**

**Yes, Gaara is "The Aeon" since every other Arcana was taken. Also, he will be joining the club that Naruto doesn't, since unlike the sports, the girl left behind is omitted from the story, and I want both to be happy. Gaara will not have a Social Link with that girl, he will just get them through their issue.**

**Please no more complaints on not wanting Gaara to be the LOVER LINK. I have no say in the matter, it is up to you to choose who is Naruto's LOVER LINK. If you don't want it to be him, don't vote for him. And no more requests for a Harem.**

**If anyone has specific Personas from Persona 4 that they like, and would like in the story, send me a Private Message, and I'll see if I can make Naruto get that one at the appropriate time, however, I cannot include every Persona, as that would simply make it too cumbersome.**

**Lastly, REVIEW! That was one long-ass chapter that took me a few hours to get through!**


	7. Dream

**Sorry I haven't been able to update in so long, a lot has been going on for me, and too little time for me to write. But I'm back, and I'm going to try to get 1 or 2 chapters a week, at least.**

**I'm going to start putting up the dates of the days, since I'm going to start putting in more then one day per chapter. I'm also going to brief the downtime days.**

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04/15 Fr

It was midnight, and a phone started to ring in Naruto and Gaara's room. Naruto woke up, recalling that he had exchanged numbers with Yosuke on the cell that Dojima gave him.

"Dude, check out the Midnight Channel!" Yosuke yelled as he picked up the phone.

Naruto stared at the screen, and saw some woman on screen. It looked like she was wearing a dress, maybe a kimono. He reached out, seeing if he could get her attention, but the image disappeared.

"Sorry, I know you and Gaara are really tired, but I had to see if someone was there, and I wanted to make sure that you saw."

"Don't worry about it, Yosuke. Thanks for letting me know. We'll talk about it at school."

They said goodbye, and Naruto was going to go back to bed, when he glanced at Gaara.

_Finally he's getting some real sleep._

He went back to bed, happy that Gaara was fast asleep.

Naruto opened his eyes. He was inside of the velvet limo, wearing his school uniform. Igor and Margaret sat across from him, in the same position he had last seen.

"Welcome. Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world… I have summoned you within your dreams. And so we meet again." Igor spoke in the same interesting tone.

"This is a space that only those who have, in one way or another, entered into a contract may enter… In your daily life, you subconsciously heard the call to awaken, and you chose to follow the destiny of your inner voice… thereby enacting your glorious awakening to your power." Margaret explained.

"Hold onto this…"

Igor handed Naruto a violet key. It had a soft velvet handle that comforted Naruto's palm.

"From this night forth, you are our guest in this Velvet Room. Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and for that, you will inevitably require our help. There is but one price for this assistance… You must abide by your contract and assume responsibility for all decisions you may make."

"Okay, I understand."

"Very well. The Persona you acquired… It is a side of you that shows itself when you face the world around you. Perhaps you can think of it as… a façade of determination you wear to face various difficulties in life. Your Persona ability, however, is that of the wild card… Compared to that of others, it is very special. It is like the number zero… empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself."

"What do you mean… special…?"

"The Persona ability is the power to control one's own heart… And the heart is strengthened through bonds."

_Didn't I hear that earlier when I talked to Gaara?_

"As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop. The power of these Social Links is what will determine your Persona's abilities."

"Control one's heart…?"

"Social Links are necessary for more than strengthening your Persona. At times, they will help light the way to the truth you are searching for." Margaret told him.

"Where will your awakened power of the wild card take you…? I look forward to traveling the road of your destiny together… *Chuckle* 'Til we meet again…"

The room got foggy, and before he knew it, Naruto woke up to the sunlight pouring through the windows.

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**Short Chapter. I forgot this info for the end of last chapter, but I'll add the next event soon.**

**Start sending me any Personas you would like to see added to the story. I can't add in every single one, but I'll try to add in all the requests.**


	8. Next Victim

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or Naruto**_._

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7 - Next Victim

04 / 16

Both Naruto and Gaara had a nice long sleep after a really exhausting night. Nanako noticed, but didn't say anything as the ate breakfast. On the way to school, Yosuke rode up to Naruto and Gaara.

"Hey guys! You saw what was on last night, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"I can't tell who it was, but there was definitely someone there." Naruto said.

"Was there another person there?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah, sorry I forgot to tell you this morning."

"Well I couldn't tell either. But we can't ignore this, no matter what. I don't want another person ending up like Saki-senpai. Let's ask Teddie after school; he might know something."

"If there is another victim, then the chance that there really is a culprit is high."

"Gaara's right. Even if it's something about the place itself that kills the victims…"

"We cannot allow this to continue until everyone in town is gone." Naruto interrupted.

"Correct. If someone is using that world as a weapon… That's just unforgivable." Yosuke added.

"I also want to help. The culprit is using some very unusual method of killing people, and the police have no way to understand it, nor would they believe it."

"Right! It's up to us! Together we'll save the next victim, catch the culprit, and beat 'um till he pays for what he's done! Believe it!"

"Cool. It's definitely reassuring to hear you say it. Oh, by the way, I tried sticking my head in the TV like you did, and it worked! I guess since we all have the power of Persona, we don't need you to take us through the TV."

"So all we need is our Persona to go into a TV. Naruto, you were the first to go in, now we can to."

"Yeah, I feel like solving the case will be easy as long as we have Naruto with us."

"I'm not that great, you know! I just try my hardest, common guys! Don't make me blush."

He and Yosuke laughed, while Gaara simply smiled. Yosuke extended his hand towards Naruto, who accepted it. Friends, partners, persona users. Even with mystery and uncertainty looming over them, a silent promise to move forward is made.

_Thou art I… And I am thou…_

_Thou has established a new bond…_

_It brings thee closer to the truth…_

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating_

_Personas of the Magician Arcana…_

Naruto felt his heart grow slightly stronger. Having another good friend gave him a warm feeling inside. He felt the breathing bond between him and Yosuke, enough to protect one another from danger.

"If you both don't hurry, then we'll be late for school." Gaara spoke nonchalantly while walking away.

"Right. Well, let's get going, partner!" Yosuke said as the continued.

The three of them got to class earlier then expected, with Chie looking fidgety.

"What's wrong, Chie?" Naruto asked curiously.

"O-Oh! It's you guys! Th-That stuff you told me last night about the Midnight Channel and that place behind the TV, is it all true, Yosuke!?"

"It was just a hunch we came up with, it all seemed to fit in perfectly, why?"

"Because I checked out the Midnight Channel last night, and I think Yukiko was on it! I tried calling her this morning, but she didn't respond. And she didn't show up yet and she's never late!"

"Chie, calm down!" Gaara interjected. "Try calling her again, she may have just been busy when you called before."

"Y-you're right."

She took a deep breath and dialed her number. After a few moments, Chie hung up and nodded with a worried look.

"Maybe she was taken…" Yosuke started.

"Don't you dare say that! I know! She's probably just too busy at the Inn today and doesn't have time to answer her phone! I'll try calling the Inn."

She dialed again, and this time had a wave of relief hit her face instead of panic.

"Hey Yukiko, It's me… You didn't show up today and I couldn't get in touch through your cell… I got a little paranoid that something bad might have happened… okay, later!" she hung up. "Well, she's perfectly fine. Thank you guys for making me worry my head off! First the whole TV thing and now this! Honestly, you guys…!"

"Sorry, but something is definitely strange… Let's all meet up at Junes after school."

They all agreed. School pasted quickly and everyone gathered in the electronics department at Junes. The boys described, in detail, the all the events that happened in Chie's absence.

"If I hadn't actually seen the place before, there's no way I would ever have believed that."

"That's for sure…" Naruto blurted out.

"Well, the important thing is to find out what's going on in that place. If the two victims really were there, then there must be some sort of connection." Gaara explained.

"How do we do that? By talking to this Teddie character?" Chie said.

"Too bad there are so many people here… I forgot that we were having a sale today…" Yosuke thought for a moment. "I've got it. C'mere for a sec." Yosuke stood next to the TV blocking the view from the couple looking at the other TV. "Naruto, stick your hand in and call Teddie. Knowing him, he's probably just wondering around the entrance. Chie, Gaara, you guys stand here and make a wall with me."

Naruto went up to the screen, while the other three stood around him hindering the view of what he was doing. He pushed his hand in and started calling Teddie. There was a crunching sound, and Naruto swiftly withdrew his hand.

"Ouch! The bear bit me! The stuffed animal had teeth! Damn it that hurts!"

"Shhhhh! Not so loud you idiot!" Chie scolded, noticing the woman looking in their direction. "Sorry, that was kind of mean… But that looks like it hurt, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… It's just a bite."

"If you say so." she looked towards the screen. "Hey, you! We know you're in there!" Chie whispered.

"Are we playing a game?"

"No, it's not a game…" Gaara sounded more or less annoyed.

"Have you sensed anyone new in there?" Yosuke asked him.

"Who's 'anyone?' I'm just a lonely little bear like always. This land feels so bear-ren…" He started laugh.

"Shut it!" Chie scolded.

"So no one is in there?" Naruto said while rubbing his hand.

"I'm not lying! My nose is as good as ever!"

"Well, I'm gonna go warn Yukiko anyway. She'll be busy with the Inn all weekend. I doubt she'll be alone, but I'd rather she be safe, and at least know what's going on. I'm going to pick her up on Monday morning to take her to school to."

"Right, and let's all check out the Midnight Channel tonight to see if we can find out anything else." Yosuke explained.

"Yeah, let's keep our fingers crossed that this is all a big misunderstanding. I really don't want Yukiko to be in danger."

Yosuke made sure he had both Naruto's and Gaara's cell numbers before they all disbanded. It was getting late, and by the time they arrived home, the evening had already set in. Nanako had already made some ramen noodles for dinner. She made sure to get extras to suit Naruto's appetite. After dinner they watched a game show until it was her bedtime.

"Dad's still late…" Nanako looked sad.

"Don't worry Nanako-chan, He'll be able to come back soon."

"Thanks Naruto." She gave him a warm smile and a hug, goodnight.

The got ready for bed, and waited till midnight as the rain poured down. The clock hit 12, and the boys watched the screen closely. The TV turned on, revealing a very vivid image of Yukiko in a large, flowery, pink dress and a microphone in her hand.

"Good evening! Tonight, Princess Yukiko has a big surprise. I'm gonna go score myself a hot stud! Welcome to 'Not a Dream, Not a Hox, Princess Yukiko's Hunt for Prince Charming!' And I came prepared! I've got my lacy unmentionables on, stacked from top to bottom! I'm about to catch a whole harem and the best of the lot is going to be all mine! Well, here I go!" She ran off into the giant, elaborate castle behind her. It had the same red and black vortex entrance as the liquor store and strange bedroom did.

Naruto's and Gaara's jaws practically hit the floor. To think that the timid, quiet Yukiko said those things completely stunned them. There was no mistaking that it was her. Naruto's cell rang. He answered with Gaara listening closely.

"H-Hey, did you see that! That was definitely Yukiko! She even said her name!"

"Yeah, but she was acting completely strange! She never acted like that before."

"I know. She looked like she was on some sort of low budget TV show or something. I don't think it was like this before…"

"Can you call Chie? I wonder if she saw that."

"Yeah, I'll call after. Let's all meet up at the Junes food court first thing tomorrow morning. It's Sunday, so we won't have school."

"Right, I'll see you then."

They hung up, and Naruto told Gaara their plan. It was time to call it a night. Both went to bed with the worry for Yukiko looming over them.

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**Sorry it's a little late. I need more votes for the Lover Link, it's currently a tie. Remember to review.**


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